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Monday storm came as surprise photo by Bob Pennell A front with little moisture proved surprisingly active when it hit the Rogue Valley By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune A misbehaving storm front that drove south through Oregon early Monday brought a surprise blanket of snow to the Rogue Valley floor, catching meteorologists and motorists by surprise. But the one-day anomaly is not expected to repeat itself today. About an inch of snow fell on most of Medford and Ashland early Monday, with some higher-elevation areas garnering up to 3 inches of snow that fell as dawn broke over Southern Oregon. Cars crawled and slid along roadways during the morning commute while residents paused to build shrines to Old Man Winter from the flakes cloaking city lawns. But the snow was not enough for schoolkids who suffered the punishment of those growing up where it rarely snows - enough accumulation for a good snowball fight, but not enough to silence school bells and give them extra chances to exercise their arms. "We had a snowball fight, a snowball war, built snowmen and made snow angels," said Emily Boyd, 9, of Medford. "I couldn't believe it snowed," Boyd said, "and I couldn't believe we had to go to school anyway." Galen Anderson, finance director for the Medford School District, said administrators determined there wasn't enough snow on the ground Monday morning to cancel classes. A city snowpack of 3 or 4 inches would get district officials to consider closing schools for the day. Ruch Elementary School outside Jacksonville, however, delayed its start time Monday by about two hours because of a snow-related accident on Highway 238 at Jacksonville Hill that stalled bus and carpool traffic. It was a snowstorm that was not supposed to happen. And that is a rarity in a time where satellites and radar allow meteorologists to track potential storms over hundreds of miles as they predict what weather fronts can and should be doing. But this particular storm broke the rules, said Dennis Gettman, science and operations officer for the National Weather Service in Medford. Storm systems that move south over Western Oregon rarely gather enough moisture to generate rain or snow like the storms flowing directly off the ocean, Gettman said. This particular front jumped onshore along the north coast carrying little precipitation, "so we didn't think we'd be getting anything if this system had behaved itself," Gettman said. But what was supposed to be just fog Monday morning in Medford turned into something more. The cloudless sky late Sunday helped drop temperatures into the high 20s, then the clouds moved in and sealed over the cold air like a cap. When the clouds opened, the water fell as snow, Gettman said. "The conditions," he said, "were just right." But even nature rarely is just right twice. Today's forecast is just like the original forecast for Monday -morning fog and clouds, then temperatures creeping into the 40s. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.